Thursday 26 August 2021

Where there's muck,

there's goosefoots. Perhaps a bit harsh, but there is a fair chance of finding something interesting if you poke around the fringes of a muck heap. As was the case this week when I was rewarded with a strong colony of Grey Goosefoot (Chenopodium opulifolium) near the stables at Royds Green (VC63). Its one of those species that is relatively distinctive once known but very difficult to identify with confidence using a key. Handily, it is also a species that seems to have been collected widely in the past, so there are lots of good quality herbarium specimens to be found online (photographs on the other hand seem far less reliable).

Its seems to be a relatively short (to 30cm tall) and well-branched plant with small distinctively shaped leaves (with most about as wide as they are long). It was recorded widely in the past, but there are virtually no contemporary records. Lost or just overlooked?

A number of the plants had this yellow marbling to the leaves, contrasting with other species nearby. I'm not sure if its viral or a nutritional problem, but not something to otherwise pay too much regard to.







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